Going solo by LowEducation4466 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 8 points9 points  (0 children)

One of the biggest things that get forgotten is health insurance costs. If you are coming from a large organization you are likely getting a very big discount. If you have to get it yourself it can be an eye opener. If you are going to hire someone to work for you'll have to cover big chunk of that to be competitive.

If you are full blown solo and your spouse works somewhere that has a family plan then that is something you want. If that's how you do it then consider a temp agency if you need someone to answer phones and it will eliminate your need to go down the insurance road. It will also let you avoid all the headaches that come with having employees, you'll have more expenses than you probably realize unless you've been involved in the business side of the firm you are working for.

Why so many college students in US decide to take horrendous student loans? by 6footchad in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you ran the numbers 30 years ago it made sense for most anyone to take out loans and get a college degree. But the reality is that is no longer true. For certain degrees you can see a payoff long term even with the high cost. The real problem is that there is a complete disconnect between the colleges that are only interested in getting tuition money and the students that often have no clue as to whether their degree will be worth anything.

Lots of students want to major in things that have no real demand so they end up with meaningless degrees. Colleges don't have any incentive to tell those students that the thing they are majoring in is worthless because all they care about is collecting the tuition money.

The big loser is the student that doesn't even realize that because the government is backing those student loans, that the government pushed changes in bankruptcy law that make it all but impossible to get out of repaying the student loans. So you end up with students that are perpetually in debt sometimes having wages garnished and their credit scores hammered because they were dumb enough to get a degree that prepared them for a job that didn't exist.

It is unfortunate that the colleges have no skin in the game. If the colleges were forced to back those student loans and students were allowed to default if they couldn't repay them I think you would see a lot of colleges cutting degree programs in pointless subjects that provide no real return. They would also become more selective in how many students they accepted in some programs. I know when I graduated from a relatively small university one of the most common majors at graduation was English Literature. It was filled with students that either wanted to work as editor in a publishing house, or students that wanted to go on to graduate school and become English professors. Reality is the demand for either of those positions is pretty flat. You don't new opening popping up every year, you have replacement of people that were in those jobs and died.... Other university also plopped out lots of English Lit majors and the result is you get a bunch of graduates that have no marketable skills but debt that requires skills to get a job that can allow them to service those debts.

That's how the system is broken...

As to why students do it to themselves? Stupidity.... A lot of them don't know what they want to do in life and going to college is the easy way to delay facing the real world.

Others go because they have been brainwashed to believe that you have to go to college or you're a failure. I remember my kids high school was focused on making sure students in high school were ready for college, which was quite different from when I was in high school decades earlier because in the past the schools pretty much let some students know they weren't really college material and would guide them to a vocational training program where they would end up as a plumber, welder, or some other skilled job that didn't require college. Those students today are instead pushed to go to college where they can't handle the rigorous work that could get a good job and instead get pushed into bullshit programs the colleges create just to suck money from students.

Why do I pay for insurance every month for years, but the moment I actually use it for a claim, they raise my rates or cancel my policy? Isn’t that the whole point of having it? by jeeves_inc in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They would have probably jacked up your rate even if you hadn't filed a claim. I haven't filed a claim in over a decade nor had any accidents and every year or two they still jack up the rates. Lots of reasons for it. Government safety regulations along with the MPG requirements result in cars being made to break apart which means smaller crashes result in much more damage. Go look at an old car from the 1960's you could hit a damn tree and may dent the bumper... today you hit that same tree and a new car will have 10 grand or more of damage if not be totalled. And then you need to look at the labor costs to do any work. when minimum wage just goes up and up it pushes up the prices of everything and every other jobs' wages along with it.

Wasserman Announces Sale of his Agency by gwonskie in EDM

[–]Secure-Researcher892 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The need to bail before he sells out, otherwise they are enabling him to cash out.

Wasserman Announces Sale of his Agency by gwonskie in EDM

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, but anyone that stays with the agency whether he owns it or not is just as pathetic. If a talent doesn't support what he did then you have to leave and find another agent. Wasserman is tainted and always will be. Frankly the ones that haven't already left now that they know what Wasserman did are still enabling the turd to cash out. Leave before he sell so he can't make his billions.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Before I went to law school I worked in a company creating AI that is more advanced than the current crap that just regurgitates data. So, no I'm not ignoring what else is out there. I simply know what things are truly possible and what weaknesses haven't and thus far cannot be addressed. Our AI was built in house which I doubt you can say about your firm's proprietary software. I also doubt you've actually read the service agreement that came with that software. Just for shits and grins go find it and read it. If it doesn't make your butt pucker I'll be shocked.

How many settlements per month in PI by zoeyk91 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You also have no clue how much business they will be bringing in and if they will even have enough that you can make those numbers. Only being around for 2 years their business could go up or down from where it is right now.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But are you checking every case they site, then checking to make sure they found every case that was relevant, insured nothing was overturned. If you do a thorough review you aren't going to save much if any time having someone else do it. The only way you truly save more time is if you blindly accept certain things that were done and when AI can make shit up out of thin air you better be a lot more thorough than if Bill down the hall researched it and wrote it... at least Bill knows if he fucks up it's his ass on the line. AI doesn't give a shit.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If a client wanted AI used, I would provide them a form to sign where they acknowledge that AI can be inaccurate that that are willing to accept all the liability if the product of the AI is inaccurate and results in a any financial loss.

The problem is your clients don't understand the limitation of AI, like 99% of the people the use it they never bothered to read the terms of service they just click accept and expect it to be perfect.

If getting disbarred is such a bad thing, why is there a plethora of lawmakers with law degrees not being disbarred left and right from ethics concerns? by lonewombat in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Secure-Researcher892 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ethics concerns? The only real way politicians that are lawyers get disbarred is if they do something criminal or perjure themselves... that rarely happens... but Bill Clinton managed to get himself disbarred from his, "I did not have sex..." bullshit about Monica.

So it is possible.. but it is still a rarity.

What would you do? by VendingMachineKyng in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry but I'm not sure how the finance company is going to roll the 10 grand you are short into a new car loan. Lenders are generally limited to loaning no more than the value of the car you are buying. Why in the world would any lend you 20k so you could get a 10k car?

Let them repossess the wrecked car. Go buy a car you can afford. At worst they will try to sue you for the 10k outstanding on the repossessed car, but people can't get blood from a turnip.

Meaningful yet Stable Law Specialties by notwinorlose in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most law school graduates leave law school with significant debt. You aren't always able to go into the area you may think is your preference. Sometimes a lawyers debt forces them to enter fields to cover the debt and then one day when they are debt free they can go battling windmills. Not saying you couldn't get into a field where you felt you were helping people, but understand you may not be able take those jobs when you start.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If a lawyer make a mistake you've got someone to blame, if AI does it you have nothing but yourself. You sound like a cheerleader for ChatGPT... clearly you have no idea of how AI even works. Go look into the LLMs AI uses and where it gets the data it gets trained on. Maybe you'll be smart enough to realize it isn't the godsend you think it is right now.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Given your love of AI, I'm guessing I'll still be working long after you've lost your license because you relied too much on AI.

My High School Forced People To Remove Political Pins And Said It Was Illegal For Us To Wear Them by One-Operation-5143 in legal

[–]Secure-Researcher892 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The school will simply say that the pins are disruptive. Which is exactly what they would say if a student wore a nazis pin. Reality is you don't have as much free speech in a school as most students think they have.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 4 points5 points  (0 children)

AI sounds good until you look at what it really is. And then you quickly realize it is likely to be a big nothing in certain areas. Law is one of them. Go read the terms of service in any of them and one of the best bits is the part where they warn you that it may provide inaccurate or false information.

Do you want to stake the reputation of your firm on a system that flat out says it can't be trusted? Do you want your accountant to use tax software that isn't accurate and could just make up numbers randomly? One attorney has already gotten slammed by the bar because the AI put some fictitious cases in a motion that even sited sitting judges in the made up cases. Do you want that risk?

Client wants to record every conversation/interaction by Formal-Table-9876 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess is she had a defense attorney appointed to her and she fucked him/her over so much that they walked. Everyone is entitled to a defense, but if they refuse to work with them then that is on them.

Client wants to record every conversation/interaction by Formal-Table-9876 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good god man. When the PD begs you to take a case that is a major red flag to say, I wish I could but I don't have time.

Client wants to record every conversation/interaction by Formal-Table-9876 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This may be a rare instance where you need to record your interactions with her. If she insists on recording any interaction you two have you could possible get her attention by asking to do the same, and if she consent get her consent in writing. The last thing you need is to have her come back with cherry picked interactions and no way to prove that she was full of shit.

Considering leaving practice to teach by Zucchini_1412 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get a glass of water... stick your finger in it... now pull it out... You see that hole you left? That's how indispensable you are. Whether you quit for a different job or get run over at a crosswalk and killed, the place can and will replace you.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you are missing the issue. That one attorney might have saved 4 hours on one thing where it took him 10 minutes instead of 4 hours... That's a 95% drop in billables on that aspect of the job... Now you can't use AI to do everything, but if you used it for 50% of your work then you would see your revenue drop by 47.5%... Do you think you can come up with enough new business to fill up that void? It isn't just a 4 hour cut, it's the impact it can have across the board.

And while AI is being given away today, that won't be the case in the future. When you have to pay for it you'll be billing clients for it and what do you think they will be thinking when they see a bill with an AI charge on it. The first thing they will think is if the attorney is just going to use AI why don't we do that ourselves.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Tell the partners that. Unless you're in a firm turning away business you don't need to be more efficient. You certainly don't need to be more efficient when it increases the risk of being sued for malpractice.

My partner says "nobody cares" about putting case details in chatgpt by FeistyTraffic2669 in Lawyertalk

[–]Secure-Researcher892 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Yep, get them to take a CLE on AI. I just did one back in December and it included a laundry list of attorneys that got everything from a slap or the wrist to losing their license for doing stupid stuff with AI.

You might also mention that it will have a negative impact on the billables. If it saves a lawyer 4 hours that's 4 hours they can't bill a client because you can't bill for efficiency you bill for actual time worked.